in the 1990 tax increase, only spending-cut bill and made it sound pretty good. but when the iraq war wound down, people said massive permanent tax increase and phony spending cuts. spending went up and not down and your tax increases hurt the economy. the economy is bad. so it's got to pass the lap test not just the moment it happens but between now and the next several sessions. >> so i hear in what you're saying considerable wiggle room. i hear you saying that republicans should not negotiate with themselves, should push for the best deal that they can get, but you aren't here as a dead ender, you're not saying that people should go off the cliff just because of a pledge? >> first of all, we have this -- having the same conversation we had two years ago when we had the same fiscal cliff two years ago and obama decided he didn't want to damage the economy because he was up for re-election. same players, same chest board, and they extend everything two years because they decided the president wanted to save himself and not damage the economy. his position is i d